[Photographs: Becky Grunewald]

Luigi's Pizza Parlor, open since 1953, is as old-school as it gets in Sacramento. There are red-and-white gingham curtains, there are pinball games, there is a 50's era sign urging you to "get pizzacated at your TV party", and there is quintessential pizza parlor-style pizza.

Affable owner Celso Brida urged me to get the Luigi's Special; it's topped with pork sausage that they make in house, seasoned with just "pepper, garlic, salt, and paprika". I also ordered half a pastrami pie for the sheer novelty, split with half pepperoni.

Luigi's pies have two notable eccentricities: The lashing of signature spice mix (black pepper, oregano, and garlic powder) that they sprinkle on top, and the thick slather of intense, tomato-paste-like sauce. This pizza is so saucy that each slice has a bulwark of tomato separating the (somewhat chalky) mozzarella cheese and the end crust.

The flavors of the fat slices of mushroom, tender sausage, garlicky (and decidedly non-artisanal) salami, and black olives on the heavily topped Luigi's special (pictured at top) cohered into a satisfying whole, especially when it cooled down just a tad.

The crisped edges of the porky pastrami were delicious, although it was a little tough and the large pieces tended to slide off the slice. The salty, greasy richness of the pepperoni half called to mind the recent New York Times article on the deserved resurgence of this classic topping.

The crust at Luigi's stands up well to the heavy sauce and toppings; there's no sag or sogginess. It's crisp and bready, with a thin dusting of cornmeal on the bottom.

Brida said that not much has changed with the recipe at Luigi's in the 40+ years that he's been there. I hope that stays true for the next 40 years.